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Licensing

General discussion

I suspect that a big frustration people (and especially IT Managers) have with Microsoft is around licensing. We give you a lot of options, but don't make it easy enough to understand. There are very few special people at Microsoft who understand it entirely (I'm not one of 'em).

What I'm wondering is this: If I found a person or people to moderate it, would you like me to lobby for the creation of a forum under this "IT Management" section entitled something like "IT Management - Licensing"?

What do you think? Useful? Or am I the only person who doesn't have all the licensing answers?

All replies

I think there would be a good need for such a discussion. I realize that the licensing can be a complex issue with larger organizations have more complex arrangements, but I feel for the average SMB, there is a need to be able to discuss and get information about their licensing options without having to speak with a sales person on the phone, or buying an obscure product over the Internet from a third-party. When I consult with Microsoft customers, I would say that security and licensing are my two major issues that I find myself educating them about.

KevinI support the IT Pro team on licensing and would like to add that we are moving forward with resources for IT Pros. On the IT management home page, we have a new licensing section with some good resources designed for IT Pros:- www.Learnlicensing.com with short video, podcasts, and reference cards on licensing topics, like the basics, or SQL licensing- Microsoft License Advisor at www.microsoft.com/licensing/license-advisor.aspx where you can get budget estimates for projects- A link to licensing@microsoft where we provide answers to licensing questions

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